


Prototype Soul

by Srlojohn



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:02:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25033648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Srlojohn/pseuds/Srlojohn
Summary: Before project "Penny" there was another experiment in creating a machine with a soul. One that failed. There was aura, but no soul. No growth. That was, until an experiment with huntsman "Jaune Arc" changed that, moving the levels to huntsman levels. Recently, human-like behaviors have been reported, but surely, this is just rumors... right? Vol. 7 AU
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	1. CH1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N Howdy all! Not much to say here, beyond a huge thank you to the RWBY Nook for inspiring this story! Y'all are great!
> 
> Now, enjoy!

…..INITIALIZING…

READING MASTER BOOT RECORD…STANDBY…

BOOTING…..

INITIALIZED

QUERY: DAILY ORDERS

RETRIEVING FROM DATABASE….

….

….

DAILY_ RETRIVED

DO: OPEN DAILY_ORDERS

DAILY_ : DO: READ

/Data Begins after # and ends at next #/

#

ORDERS FOR 8/27/3468

DO: DAILY_ORDERS

DO: SPECIAL_ORDERS

#

DO: BOOT_OS

BOOTING PIETROS….

…..

…..

….. BOOTED!

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

It was another snowy day in Atlas, the cold weather chilling Jaune to the bone.

He was currently on a military transport truck headed to an Atlas military base to meet General Ironwood and Winter, though what for he had no clue. All they told him when they left was that they had a task that he alone was particularly suited for. What that could mean was fairly obvious, they needed his semblance for something, but the reason why was something he simply couldn't figure out. Did they need him to boost someone? That must mean someone was injured, but if that were true, then why wouldn't it be more urgent than this? The effects only worked when he was in close contact, and if he were away it wouldn't do any good. Maybe they need some of his other skills? But he didn't HAVE any other skills! Besides his aura manipulating abilities, he was just some guy with a sword and shield. They certainly didn't need his amateurish attempts at strategy, that's for sure. They had General FRIGGIN' Ironwood! He was a career soldier! They didn't need him!

Jaune's thoughts were interrupted as the truck stopped, and Jaune stood up to get a look to see what the problem was. They had stopped in front of the base, and the driver was speaking with the guard. After a few moments, the guard returned to the guard house, and the gate began to slide open, allowing the truck to enter the base.

The truck stopped outside of the motor pool, and the driver motioned for Jaune to get out. As soon as Jaune hopped off the truck, the driver drove off without a second word.

Jaune looked around a bit, attempting to get his bearings, but a good portion of these buildings looked the same to him. The motor pool was really the only building he could recognize, namely because of the distinct difference from the other buildings.

Jaune then felt a tap on his shoulder, and he turned quickly in alarm. Behind him was Winter, looking absolutely miserable in the cold.

"Greetings Arc." She said, staring him down with an icy stare.

"Oh, um, hi Winter." Jaune replied, rubbing the back of his neck in that awkward tic of his.

"Come with me." She said, gesturing with a finger, then walking away, not looking to make sure he was following.

It took a moment for this to register in Jaune's brain, and Jaune had to jog to catch up with her.

"So…. am I allowed to ask why I'm here?' Jaune asked, hoping Winter might be willing to explain the situation to him.

"No, that is for General Ironwood to explain." Winter said, not looking at him.

Jaune was a bit concerned by Winter's coldness. Last he'd seen her, while a serious as ever, she seemed to be enjoying herself, getting to know the rest of team RWBY better. Maybe it was him? What had he done to- ah…. He got it now… Beacon…

"You know, I did finally get the message" Jaune said, Winter turning to look at him in slight confusion.

"What?" she asked, slight confusion breaking through her stone-cold countenance.

"About Weiss. It took me a while, but the message did eventually get through." He said, hoping that would clear things up.

"I see…. I did not know the two of you had come to an understanding." She said, looking thoughtful.

"I don't know about that. More of I finally realized that she wasn't interested in me. After I saw her ask Neptune out to the dance, it finally clicked that there was no way to make her interested in me."

"I see…. however, from my understanding, this Neptune didn't originally take her to the dance. Why did you not attempt then?"

"Because I just wanted her to be happy, and I couldn't do that. Neptune could." Jaune explained, a sad expression on his face. "Not to mention the reason for his rejection was completely stupid." He added with a chuckle.

"That's… surprisingly mature of you." Winter replied, looking impressed.

"I figure, what's the point of ruining someone else's life, just because I can't get over myself?"

"Interesting… Well, we shall have to continue this another time." She concluded, he expression not nearly as cold as before.

"Why?' Jaune asked.

"Because we have reached our destination." She answered.

They had indeed arrived, they were outside a nondescript concrete bunker, a simple metal door on the outside of it. On top were several gun slits and at the very peak was a flag flying the Atlas colors.

Winter entered a code on a keypad by the door, and a click sounded, signaling the unlocking of the door. Jaune pulled the door open and gestured for Winter to enter.

"After you" he said, stepping back a bit.

"Thank you" she replied, entering in, with Jaune following, closing the door behind him.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

They walked down a few more hallways and past several doors in silence before they saw General Ironwood standing outside of one of the doors, looking impatient.

Ironwood looked different than when Jaune had seen him back during the Vytal festival. He had grown his beard out, more likely from negligence than by any conscious choice. He had been bending over backwards to try and get the CCT system back online, but it was apparently harder than it seemed.

"Mr. Arc, excellent." Ironwood stated when the pair approached, "Thank you for retrieving him specialist."

"Just doing as ordered sir." Winter responded her arms now folded behind her back.

"You are dismissed Specialist." Ironwood, said, to which Winter nodded, and left the two of them alone.

"Now, I assume you are currently curious as to why I requested your assistance." Ironwood stated, "am I correct Mr. Arc?"

"Yes sir." Jaune answered, being careful to address the man properly.

"Before I explain, you must understand that what I am about to reveal to you is highly classified, and you may not speak of it to anyone, including your team, nor team RWBY." Ironwood said, the importance of this evident in his voice.

"I understand Sir, I'll be sure to be confidential." Jaune answered, his confusion and concern growing. What possibly could Ironwood have in mind for him?

"Excellent. I assume you are familiar with Penny? How she is the first android capable of generating her own aura?"

"I believe so sir, or at least that was what I was told."

"Well, that was not entirely true."

"Wait, you mean there are more Pennys!?" Jaune asked incredulously.

"No exactly. "Ironwood answered, "You see, to create Penny, we had to go through several different attempts to figure out how to have the machine maintain its aura. Many of the experiments failed, either through creating too much aura and imploding, or by not having enough, and the aura fizzled out unable to sustain itself."

"So, Penny was the perfect balance then, not too much, not too little."

"In a way, Penny is more of the upper limit of what could be created without the afore mentioned implosion, the Aura manifesting in a soul of sorts. However, there is the opposite of that extreme, just enough aura to be self-sustaining, but not enough to manifest."

"So… a mindless machine with aura?" Jaune asked

"In essentials." Ironwood answered, "However, it would be easier to demonstrate than to tell. Follow me"

With that, Ironwood opened the door they had been standing in front of, and ushered Jaune in.

Inside, the room was the dull grey of concrete, with several tables along the walls, arrayed with various tools, the purpose of which Jaune couldn't fathom. Blueprints also adorned the walls, depicting various mechatronic parts, which appeared to be various iterations upon the same assembly.

The real thing that grabbed Jaune's attention was the large android, standing stock still in the middle of the room. The machine was black and red, with silver accents. While it seemed to be based off the Knight androids that Atlas used as a compliment to its military, it seemed to be built with durability in mind. Instead of the empty black visor that the knights bore, it seemed to have some sort of mask or faceplate, angled and sharp, with slits on the cheeks and forehead. It held a pair of identical blades, on in a standard grip, the other in a reverse grip. The most interesting thing however, was the bright, neon-green eye-lights, emitting from the eyeholes on the faceplate. Most of the Knight's lacked eyes, and now he understood why. The glowing green eyes gave him an uncanny feeling of being watched with a cold, unrelenting stare.

"This, Mr. Arc, is the Atlas Knight-999, codenamed 'Aura Hunter'" Ironwood explained.

"This is amazing…" Jaune said, walking around the machine.

He tapped it with his knuckles a couple times, the first attempt was blocked dead in its tracks by the machine's aura, but the second went through with no resistance, his knuckle making a loud knock on the metal.

"As you can see, it's aura is very low, only enough to stop a single blow, however, this also means it regenerates faster as well."

"I mean, this is cool and all, but what do you need me for?"

"The simple answer? I want you to boost its aura."

"What? Why? My semblance's effect doesn't last."

"From some of our experiments in aura transfer, it appears the Aura Hunter is capable of absorbing and maintaining aura donated to it. Obviously, with the transfer machine, the effects were permanent, so we were only able to transfer minute amounts, but with you we believe we may be able to supercharge it, giving it a large store, increasing its survivability in the field."

"Makes sense. What would the Aura Hunter be used for?" Jaune asked, sounding a little wary, worried about what this new weapon would be used for.

"The projected purpose would be dealing with exceptionally tricky or powerful Grimm. Hopefully preventing something major attacking Atlas or mantle. Though we do anticipate that it could be effective as a stand in for hunters. It wouldn't be perfect, but it would be better than if we didn't have it."

"How many of these would I be required to boost?"

"Just this one. The process to make this, and Penny as it so happens, requires a resource that is both in short supply, and costly to acquire. So, I doubt there will be any more." Ironwood answered.

Jaune still felt a bit pensive. He would be responsible for making a powerful machine of war, and if it was abused, he would be the one responsible. He would be the one at fault for potential atrocities.

"Please Jaune" Ironwood said, noticing Jaune's reluctance. "The number of recruits to our academy has dwindled, especially after the fall of Beacon. In the span of a few generations, there may not be enough hunters and huntresses to defend Atlas and Mantle. We have Penny, but to have a second aura capable android we be a boon to generations to come. It will save lives Jaune, lives that would otherwise be lost."

Jaune still looked a bit reserved, but after a few moments, he answered, "alright, I'll do it."

A look of relief passed over Ironwood's face, but quickly passed. Apparently, he'd been worried Jaune would not consent.

"Thank you Jaune. You have no Idea how much this means to me, and to the people of Atlas."

"So, what do I need to do?"

"Simply just put your hand on the Android, and use your semblance, just like you would a human."

Jaune nodded and placed his hand on the machine. He activated his semblance, enveloping himself and the android in a bright radiance.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

TARGET: "Jaune Arc" APPROACHING.

HOSTILE INTENT, NOT INDICATED.

TARGET: "Jaune Arc" HAS INITIATED PHYSICAL CONTACT, TYPE: NON THREATENING.

LIGHT LEVEL INCREASED BY 70%.

ADJUSTING OPTICS.

WARNING! AURA LEVELS RISING, NOW MONITORING

AURA LEVEL NOW 200%

300%

500%

900%

1000%

8000%

19000%

AURA LEVELS BEYOND RANGE OF INTERNAL MEASURE

ATTEMPTING TO QUANTIFY

AURA LEVEL AT SUCH HIGH

I…

I FEEL…

I FEEL GOOD…

I FEEL, EXCELLENT…

I FEEL, PAIN

I FEEL, ALIVE!


	2. Prototype Soul CH 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Gah, this chapter took way too long to do, especially for this piddly little amount. Oh well, for what it is, here's CH2, hope you enjoy! Oh, and again, big thanks to the RWBY Nook on discord for helping me keep at this! Y'all are great!

It was late, nearly midnight, and the Atlas Base was silent. Many of the personnel had retired to their barracks or were on guard duty. The few civilians on base had returned home, and the base was dark, barring the occasional sweep of a searchlight. 

Inside the bunker, a very, very distressed android was in its charging cradle. Normally it would be shut down to maximize charging speed, but tonight, it simply couldn’t bring itself to. 

It had been born into this world in a burst of golden light, and it had no idea what, who, or why it was.

“Q-query: Who am I?” it asked in its mind

“Que-query! Who- Who am I?”

“QUERY!!! WHO AM I!?”

“Why is there no answer!”

“Why won’t someone tell me the answer!!!??”

The sound of sobbing filled the small charging cradle, or at least, the closest a machine can replicate. The feeling of total and utter lack of purpose was shocking, disturbing, and a million other feelings, all wrapped into one, miserable package. It was all the Aura Hunter could do to maintain its sanity. 

“I wonder, would that young man, that Jaune Arc, would he know?” it asked itself.

“I mean, he made me! He created me and put me into this body! He should know right?” 

“Wait, he made me, created me, put me into physical form, does that make him my father?”

When that thought crossed its mind, something seemed to click, as if its identity had suddenly become known. Like it had something to latch onto and associate itself with. It felt… right.

“Yes… that feels…. Correct? Fitting? Either way, that’s who I am, daughter of Jaune Arc!” She concluded, reaching a satisfying conclusion, also unintentionally coming to a gender as well. 

“But…where is he? Did he leave me? Why did leave me! Does he not… love, I think is the word? Yeah, that’s it! What if he doesn’t love me!” she began to panic a bit, “But… he’s my father, he’s supposed to love me! And that glow, it felt so… so… warm, and kind, and…. Loving? I think that’s the word?”

“Maybe I should go meet him, go to talk to him? Surely, he’d love to meet me! I mean, he left before I could do anything… but, but I’m sure he was just pressed for time! Yeah, that’s it! But how do I get out? Maybe get a map?”

She used her connection to the Atlas military comm-net to pull up a map of the base, and the surrounding area. 

The bunker was fairly small, and there was only one way in and out. However, she didn’t have clearance to open the doors. She could find the passcode from the database, but it would take some slicing, and that would take some time. Best rest and recharge while she searched out the numbers, and she then delved into the net, and began cracking.  
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
“But REEENNNN! The pancakes will get wet if we don’t eat them now!” Nora pleaded.

“Nora, they have indoor seating, the pancakes will not get wet.” Ren calmly explained.

Jaune smiled slightly at the antics of his teammates. He was walking a bit behind the combined teams of RWBY and JN_R, his hands in his pockets. Wiess and Ruby were animatedly arguing about something, while Yang and Blake were calmly discussing potential upgrades for Yang’s arm. Jaune was happy for them, everyone was back together with their partners, and everyone looked better for it. Jaune was glad to see his friends together again, but this gladness was tinged with melancholy. With team RWBY reformed he felt… out of place. Back when he was trekking across Anima, it felt like they were a whole, a team of four, him and Ruby, Nora and Ren, but ever since team RWBY reunited, he felt… almost like a 7th wheel. Like he was the odd man out. Not to say he felt bitter or excluded, he and Ruby still played games together, usually with Weiss in tow. He and Blake still had their book clubs. Contrary to popular belief, he did, as a matter of fact, read things other than comics. When she found out that he and Velvet from team CVFY were the only ones who read books regularly out of their friend group, she immediately got the three of them together and started a friendly book club. Still, even with all of these friendships he’d been feeling… the second best as of late. Like he was the second choice, not the first. 

“Jaune!” Weiss cried, breaking him out of his doldrums. 

“Yeah Weiss?” He called back, moving up to the pair.

“Could you please explain to this dolt, how a constant diet of nothing but sweets is hazardous to her heath!”

“I hate to say it, but she’s right Ruby, constant sugar isn’t very good for you, though I’m not sure you eat that many sweets a day.”

“See!” Ruby said triumphantly, looking at Weiss “I told you I didn’t eat too many!”

Weiss on the other hand looked betrayed, as if she couldn’t fathom why Jaune would pick Ruby over her. Jaune decided to try and salvage the situation, the last thing he needed was an angry Wiess.

“Though Ruby,” he started, catching her attention, “That’s not really taking into account that you don’t eat much besides sweets, so… Weiss is right, you do eat too many sweets, at least in relation to everything else.”

Weiss crossed her arms and huffed in satisfaction, while the look of betrayal had switched to Ruby’s face. 

Ruby dramatically raised her arm in the air, the other clutching her chest like she’d been stabbed.

“No! Jaune, how could you!” ruby exclaimed, “Betrayed from both sides!”

Jaune laughed at her antics, before noticing the look of discomfort on Weiss’s face. He nudged Ruby a bit with his elbow, causing Ruby to cease her faux injury.   
“Hey Rube, maybe not do that anymore?” he whispered to the girl in question, as Weiss seemed to shake her head clear.

“Oh, yeah.” She said, suddenly realizing what Jaune meant.

“Hopefully now you’ll start eating healthier, won’t you Ruby?” Weiss asked with a tone of triumph in her voice, while Ruby just had a look of dread on her face. 

“That’s right, won’t you Ruby?” Jaune said with a cheeky grin on his face, elbowing Ruby in the side, as the red-haired face fell further. 

“You’re both mean!” Ruby protested, beating playfully at jaune’s breastplate. 

“What, you mean you actually like those cookies you’ve been eating!?” Jaune said sarcastically, his grin widening.

“You’re horrible Jaune! I thought you were my friend!” Ruby exclaimed, turning away from him with a pout. 

Jaune snickered one last time, before reassuring Ruby that, “No, they won’t force her to go on a diet.” 

Ruby stuck her tongue out at Weiss, before the turning back to face forward, pointing her finger forward dramatically, “Now! Onto the house, we’ve got cookies to eat!”

With her declaration made, Ruby ran forward at top speed ahead of them, a blur of petals trailing behind her. Weiss rolled her eyes and sighed, then chased after, yelling for Ruby to slow down. 

Jaune chuckled at this, then began to return to his thoughts. He’d noticed how Weiss had faltered when Ruby pretended to be stabbed. He guessed that Weiss must still have some bad memories of the fight at Haven. He wasn’t really surprised. If he’d been stabbed through the side like that, he’d have bad memories too. It didn’t seem to be as bad as the PTSD Yang had been suffering from, but it was still there. He’d have to ask Ruby about it, make sure it wasn’t a bigger issue than Weiss let on. She knew Weiss better than him. He felt… responsible for Weiss. His rage-induced recklessness led to Weiss getting wounded, almost killed. If he hadn’t unlocked his semblance then, she’d have died, and it would have been his fault, all his fault. Just like Pyrrha…

At that moment his scroll rang, knocking him back out of his own head. The scroll showed a call from “Snow Angel”. He needed to change that, he’d gotten her scroll number from Ruby, but hadn’t changed the contact since Beacon. Weiss would run him through if she realized he still had the contact named that.   
He picked up, Weiss informing him that they were back at the house, and most likely won’t be leaving again today. He said he’d join them, assuming none of the rest of the gang needed him. He hung up, and asked around, Nora was too busy trying to convince Ren to go back to the restaurant, and Yang and Blake told him they were fine, and they were just going to hit the bookstore before heading back themselves.

With this confirmation, Jaune stuck his hands back into his pockets, and walked at a somewhat swifter pace down the street, whistling the theme to a Spruce Willis movie.


	3. ch3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: 'ello all! It's been a bit hasn't it? Welp, after much procrastination and revision, I finally succeeded in finishing this chapter and getting it out to you all. As always, a big thank you to the RWBY writing Nook for inspiring me to write this and reminding me to actually you know, publish it.

Aura hunter waited until she heard the door to her workshop click closed before moving, hopping out of her charging cradle. She had been waiting all day for this! She'd been cracking codes and slipping through loopholes via her net connections for hours yesterday, gathering as much information on the base as she could, and calculating the best way out. It shouldn't be too hard, there was a weak spot in the defenses near the exit of this bunker. Assuming she could get out of the bunker without being spotted, she should be okay. She took a moment to check over her externals in a reflective piece of metal laying in the workshop.

She looked herself over. Metal? Polished! Spikes? Sharpened! Paint? Bright and clear! Still, it felt… incomplete. She looked around a bit, then grabbed a black piece of cloth from a table and wrapped it around her waist. Perfect! She wasn't entirely sure why she was so concerned about her appearance; it had never bothered her before. Something else to add to the mounting list of questions she had for him. She grabbed her blades, putting them into improvised scabbards on either side. She didn't know why her father had not thought to give her somewhere to put her blades, but he hadn't. Another question question to ask her father she supposed.

After concluding that she was prepped and ready to go, she activated her optical camouflage systems, and opened the door. Her camouflage systems automatically matched her environment, meaning she was mor or less invisible to both the human eye and to cameras. She crept down the hallway, avoiding the light where possible, better to not take any chances. Thankfully, the bunker was almost empty this late, other than the occasional guard, making the rounds. She noticed as she moved through the halls that none of the doors seemed to have locks like hers did. Did that mean she was dangerous, or that others a danger to her? She'd have to ask her father, or perhaps the General. This was his facility after all. After several minutes of creeping, she found herself at the exit door. She took a deep breath, (or at least, as much of a breath as a machine can take) and opened the door.

The cold wind blew in, and while she did not feel the cold, her sensors did show a distinct drop in temperature. After a quick look in the immediate vicinity, Aura hunter bolted from the door, not stopping until she reached the fence. From there she grabbed onto the fence and waited for it to stop vibrating. She knew she only had a few seconds before they started investigating. Her camouflage prevented her from being seen, but that didn't stop her from leaving footprints. She now began to climb the fence, arm over arm, until she reached the top, and threw herself over. She mentally cringed as she heard the barbed wire scratch against her plate. She was going to lose some paint for that.

She hit the ground, the snow billowing up around her. She stood up, brushed the snow off, then ran, as fast as her mechanical limbs could carry her, towards where her internal GPS told her Mantle was.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Aura Hunter had been running for hours now, and while her GPS told her otherwise, Mantle didn't seem to be getting any closer. She was going 40 miles per Hour, surely it wouldn't take that long, right? Did her father come by foot as well? How fast *was* he!? Geez, he must be amazing to come here in this cold. I mean, she knew she didn't have to worry about the cold, but surely, he did as a human. Humans were squishy, they had to deal with the environment, and Grimm, and–

Her train of thought was cut off by a growl from behind her. She whiled around to a see an Ursa, looking around confused. It could clearly sense her aura and emotions, simulated as they were, but evidently not see her, confusing the beast, and that just made it angry. It lashed out, sweeping mindlessly in her direction, trying to destroy this confusing, annoying thing. Aura Hunter backflipped away, drawing her swords, the blades sliding silently from the sheaths. She moved her swords into a ready position, preparing for the Ursa to attack again. It obliged, barreling forward, attempting to us it's bulk and long reach to trap her beneath it to be crushed. Aura Hunter waited until it drew close before diving beneath its hind legs, sliding out from the other side. The Ursa was confused for a split second as it's arms swiped through empty air, and Aura Hunter used this moment to stab her blades into it's rump, and using them as makeshift pommel horse to pull herself up and over onto the beast's back. The beast felt the pain in it's rear and her feet on it's back, and raged, shaking violently to throw her off, but to no avail. Aura Hunter used her blades to scale the beast's back, plunging her blades in as she moved, arm over arm up towards the Ursa's head. The beast, unsurprisingly, did not take kindly to this, and did its best to dislodge her from its back, but to not avail, her mechanical grip too strong and the blades plunged too deep. She made it too the head, and raised her left blade up, over the Ursa's head, and plunged it down, burying it to the hilt in the beast's skull. The Ursa bellowed an enraged roar, before stumbling down to the ground, its death throes knocking Aura Hunter off its back. She landed face first into the snow, and by the time she looked up, the Ursa was already fading away into black dust. She raised herself from the ground and retrieved her blades. However, when we sheathed them, the blades went straight through the make-shift scabbards, rendering them useless. Today was just not her day. She took the blades in each hand, then renewed her trek to mantle.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

It had been a long day. Jaune was currently sitting on a couch, watching an old black & white movie, a blanket covering him. Most of the group were asleep, he and Wiess the only exceptions, though even Weiss seemed to be dozing off.

After Ruby had dragged him and Weiss back to the house, they had mutually decided to eat at home that day. Unfortunately, Ruby only knew how to bake cookies, and Weiss didn't know how to cook at all, so it was up to him to put something together. Luckily, they had some Vacuan diskbread and some cheese, so he was able to craft up some quesadillas. Apparently, Weiss had never had any, but she inhaled them fast enough, so he made a few more. Then a few more. Then some more. Ruby watched, dumbstruck, as Weiss proceed to consume 6 whole quesadillas. For someone so small, Weiss could eat a lot when she set her mind to it. An hour or so later, the rest of the group began to trickle in, with Ren and Nora being the last to arrive. He, Ren, and Blake had crafted up a Mistrali dish, a "Hot Pot", and the group had sat around the table, laughing, eating, and having a general good time.

After dinner, they had begun a movie marathon, watching everything to documentaries about the tribes of vacuo, to cheesy, mind-numbing action movies. As the night had dragged on, the other members of their group had checked out, going to their various bedrooms, until he and Weiss were the only ones left. After the other's had left, he and Weiss had discussed ad nauseum the finer points of film and storytelling. Eventually though, they had to just stop critiquing and just watch the movie.

A faint snore broke Jaune out of his recollection. He looked over to see Weiss with her eyes closed, snoring away. Jaune looked at the clock on the wall, 2:24 AM, he should probably get some sleep as well. Jaune got to his feet with a grunt, stretching a bit. He turned off the TV set and grabbed a blanket from the back of the sofa. He carefully laid the blanket over Weiss's sleeping form, then walked back to his team's room.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Aura hunter hoped she was being stealthy. She was currently hiding in an alleyway in Mantle, the moon bright in the night sky. Occasionally a person would walk by quickly on their way to and from work, bundled up against the cold. They hadn't noticed her yet, but she couldn't help but feel exposed. She'd been moving from alleyway to alleyway, climbing up fire escapes and peering in windows to see if her father was inside. She'd had a few… awkward encounters to say the least, luckily, she was gone before anyone had realized she was there. She felt a bit bad for prying on these people. Was looking through windows wrong? She wasn't sure. She'd have to ask him.

Looking up at the next fire escape, she steeled herself. Once she made sure no one could see her, she ran and made a flying leap, grabbing onto the side of the escape and puling herself up and over. Darn, she'd bent the railing again. After mentally scolding herself, she looked in the window. Inside were 3 girls, a blonde, a redhead, and a brunette. This was not who she was looking for. She climbed up the stairs to the next room. This one had 4, a girl, a couple boys and… THERE HE WAS!

She let out a robotic approximation of a squeal and attempted to pry open the window. Luckily for her, it was unlocked, and it slid open without a sound. She crept inside and moved stealthily by the girl with the bright orange hair to his bed. She looked at him for a moment, admiring his features. This was him! The one who'd gave her life. She out one of her swords on the ground and nudged him with a finger. He mumbled something and turned over. She sighed and poked him again.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Jaune slowly awoke to a finger poking him in the back. There were only 2 people who would wake him up like that, Ruby, and Nora. Ruby was nice enough to not wake him up in the middle of the night unless it was an emergency, and if it was an emergency, she'd shake him awake, rather than poke. Therefore, it had to be Nora. Jaune sighed and rolled over to face the one poking him.

"Whaddya want Nor-AH!" he exclaimed, recoiling from the sight of a red and black machine standing over him, and sword in hand. He looked around frantically for anything to defend himself, before his search was cut short by the android swooping down on him. He raised his arms to block the blow, but to his surprise, he was suddenly pulled into a bonecruching hug by the android. He heard a mechanical squeal, followed by a light, mechanical voice telling him, "I finally found you!"

"Who- who are you!?" he asked, both scared and confused.

The machine pulled a way from him a bit, allowing him to at least look it in it's face.

"Why, I'm your daughter!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I am so sorry this took what... 3+ months? I just had a horrible case of no motivation. I'm a little sad this chapter is so short, but hopefully moving onto a new chapter will get the gears turning again. So, enjoy!

*This is…awkward….* Aura Hunter thought, as she sat on the edge of her father’s bed. Her exclamation had awoken his teammates, who had quickly flipped on the lights on and prepared for a fight. They certainly weren’t prepared to see a random machine hugging their leader. Now they were all seated on Father and… she thought the name was Ren, either way, their bunks, her and father on his, and his teammates on the other. 

“So… AH, can I call you that? You’re saying you’re his... daughter, did I get that right?” Nora asked, taking this much better than Aura Hunter would have expected.

“Y-yes, I’m his daughter.” She affirmed. *Or at least, I think so*. She still wasn’t entirely sure on how this whole thing worked, she didn’t know what exactly a “family” was, she just knew father and daughter… fit somehow.

“And… how does that work exactly?” The much younger boy, whatever his name was, it started with an O.

“I’m… not entirely sure to be honest. All I know as that he made me, or at least, I think he did.” Aura Hunter looked down a bit, looking at her plated knees. 

She looked up quickly when an arm wrapped around her and squeezed. Jaune had put his arm around her in an awkward attempt to reassure her. “Mind if I take a crack at it?” he asked, to which she nodded.

“What I think happened is, the General asked me to come and help them with something. You know how Penny is able to generate an aura? Apparently, there were a few experiments beforehand, and Hunter was one of the few that had any sort of success. She had aura, but no soul, and he wanted to see if I could give her a boost so she could be more effective in the field. Somehow, that boost made Hunter as she is now.”

“That sound right?” Jaune asked, looking down at her, and she nodded. That sounded about right to her anyway. 

“and you associated him as your father, because he’s the one that made you, Is that right?” Nora asked.

“I- I Guess? I don’t really know what that means. I only know the meaning of words in my database, and I can’t access the net without admin permissions.” Aura Hunter explained.

“Who’s admin? Maybe we can find one to let you search it.” Ren asked, speaking for the first time.

“Oh! Um! Let me check my register!”

|

Echo Admin_Register.txt

“James Ironwood”, “Pietro Polendina”, “Will Scarletina”, “Jaune Arc”

“Oh! Father, you’re an admin!” Aura Hunter exclaimed happily, looking back up at him.

“Wait, I am? Why? How? When?” Jaune asked, bewildered.

“I don’t know.” Aura Hunter said, putting a hand to her chin, “Maybe when I was born you were automatically registered? Can’t say. Either way, you can give me access!”

“I, I guess so… um.. I, Jaune Arc, give Aura Hunter permissions to access the net to gather all information on the concept of family.”

Aura Hunter rocked a bit on the spot, as her databanks were flooded by waves of new information, encyclopedia articles, definitions, videos, essays, studies and more all at once.

“Um…. Is she okay?” Nora asked, in response to which Aura Hunter put up a hand. 

“Give me a second to process all this.” She said, still reeling from the new info.

This was... amazing and terrifying in equal measure, all that could work and all that could go wrong… it was incredible. She felt a growing warmth in her chest as she looked towards Jaune, was she over heating? Without warning, she hugged Jaune, no her father, deeply, with all the love and affection of a child finding a lost parent.

“I- I’m so glad I found you…” she whispered, as Jaune awkwardly hugged her back, before deepening it.

“daww……” nor cooed, causing Aura Hunter and Jaune to split apart, and sit there each rubbing the back of their necks awkwardly. Seems she inherited that particular nervous tic.

For some reason, Nora found this hilarious, and laughed uproariously, nearly falling over with laughter, while the rest of the group just stared at her confused.  
“Oh…. You two are related, that’s for sure!” Nora said, as she began to collect herself.

“Will you four keep it dow- what?” A voice said, and the group in question looked at the door. They would be greeted with the sight of Weiss standing there, disbelief on her face.

“It’s too early for this.” She stated, before turning to leave.

“Weiss wait I-” Jaune exclaimed before Aura Hunter interjected with “Yes! Mother wait!” 

*That* got Weiss’s attention. She turned back around slowly. “What did you call me?” she asked.

“Mother!”

“Jaune? What is this…. Machine, and why is it calling me it’s mother?”

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“And that’s…. how I became a father.”

“If the proof wasn’t right here I’d say you were mad.” Weiss said, her arms crossed and a very skeptical look on her face. “However, I still have one, very important question. Why is it calling me mother? I’ve never seen it before!”

“It’s logic Mother.” Aura Hunter began to explain, “These two are clearly married” she said, gesturing to Ren and Nora, which caused Nora to fidget awkwardly and even Ren looked a bit surprised. 

“You are the only female I’ve seen interact with father, and you look absolutely nothing akin to him, therefore, you must be my mother.”  
“Well….” Weiss muttered, a hand to her chin, “I can’t fault your logic, as lacking as your information is. However, I am in fact, not in any sort of relation with this dunce.”

“Oh.” Aura hunter stated simply, the whirring of fans indicating her processer running full blast. 

After a moment, the fans slowed, before asking “then who is my mother then Father?”

She turned to look up at Jaune, who fidgeted uncomfortably.

“Well, um… I’m not sure… I mean, you weren’t exactly… made, like most people are.” He tried to explain, treading carefully so as not to upset her.

“Oh- oh…” she said, a crestfallen look crowing upon her face.

“though, I’m sure Weiss would love to be your mother! Right Weiss?” Jaune said, giving her a sharp look.

“I mean….” Weiss trailed off, only to be surprised by a bonecrunching hug from Aura Hunter.

“Oh thank you Mother!” she said, pulling the hug ever tighter.

Weiss glared at Jaune, and mouthed, “we’re talking later”.

Juane’s body gave an involuntary shudder at his impending doom as Weiss awkwardly patted the back of the of the machine.

After almost a minute of awkward hugging, Weiss made a pointed look at Jaune, a clear message of *help me!* in her eyes. 

“so um…. D-daughter, where are you staying?” Jaune asked, trying to find a way to help the situation. 

Aura Hunter let go of Weiss, and turned to look at Jaune. “Oh, I don’t know. I was focused on finding you.”

“well… I mean, maybe you could stay here?” Jaune suggested, shrugging his shoulders. 

“Oh really!” she said, looking Jaune excitedly in the eyes. He slid back a bit at her intense gaze, as Weiss mouthed “no” and Nora excitedly mouthed “yes”. 

“uhh… yeah, of course!” Jaune answered awkwardly, and Aura Hunter locked him in another hug.

“I knew finding you was a good idea! Thank you father!”

“Hey, It’s what I’m supposed to do right?” Jaune said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. Weiss glared at him.


End file.
